Don't all good speeches start with that?
My journey hasn't quite begun, but it is less than 48 hours away. Tomorrow will be the day that I get out my remaining space bags and cram everything that is remaining of my earthly belongings into my suitcase. This is the same suitcase that I came back to Michigan with, but I have found I need a bit more room in my suitcase for a very special item. My French coffee press. I haven't used it yet, it is still brand new and in the box along with a pound of coffee. I don't think I could last a single day drinking instant coffee so out of all of my little kitchen gadgets, the coffee press was the one thing I simply couldn't wait for and it must go in my luggage.
Over the next several months- possibly even years if I keep up with it- I will use this space to update you on English life, from my uniquely Midwestern American perspective of course. I will try to update weekly but I don't know yet which day. Once I get settled in I will choose a day but I am leaning toward the beginning of the week. You can come here just to see what is going on in my life or to see what bizarre and/or fascinating aspects of English life I have to share.
For the time being, here is a map of England. I am moving to the North East coast to a town called Hartlepool which is in the county of Cleveland. Cleveland is highlighted in white on the map below. Imagine traveling all that way and leaving the Midwest only to end up in Cleveland of all places.
If you are interested to learn more about Hartlepool, here is the link to what Wikipedia has to say about Hartlepool. I suggest scrolling down to the bottom to the section entitled "Monkeys" if you would like a nice laugh.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartlepool
I will miss everyone, but I hope this blog makes you feel a bit closer and connected to me. Cheers!
Lisa
